Top team of writers pick best in 5 classes

Selecting the country’s best vehicles this year is no Sunday drive

Welcome to the first of Toronto Star Wheels’ two Special Sections on the Best New Vehicles of 2017, in which our correspondents select the very best of the new cars, SUVs and trucks on sale in Canada.

This is not as easy as it sounds. There are dozens out there and all of them (or most, anyway) are top-ofthe-line creations guaranteed to make most buyers happy. However, as with just about everything in life, from a pair of jeans to politicians to the competitiveness of the local professional hockey team, some are better than others.

Now, having been in the automotive journalism profession for many years, I’m frequently asked, “What kind of car should I buy?”

Let me tell you a short story that I think will help illustrate the answer.

Some years ago, my wife wanted me to take her to a movie. I don’t go to many but I work for a newspaper where there are people who watch them for a living. Naturally, I approached one.

“What are some good movies?” I asked.

Without hesitating, he rattled off the names of three or four.

“Wait a minute,” I exclaimed. “You have just identified some movies that, right here in the pages of this newspaper, you have not exactly been fussy about. In fact, if I recall correctly, you gave one of them just one star out of four, which is certainly not an indication of excellence. What gives?”

And he said (and this is an exact quote): “Just because I don’t like them doesn’t mean they aren’t good movies.”

And there you have it: The secret is out. Just because a reviewer has some nitpicks doesn’t mean the overall product doesn’t have redeeming qualities.

What I mean, by telling you that little story, is that just because I don’t think much of a particular car, SUV, minivan or truck doesn’t mean it’s not a quality product. Those of us who do this for a living have our biases, as does any political or sports reporter or — dare I say it — movie reviewer.

But with experience comes legitimacy, and the people I have assembled to do the judging for this special section are all veterans and respected for their knowledge of what’s good and what’s not so good.

In this issue, we are looking at all of the vehicles in five categories — small cars, full-size cars, full-size premium cars, sports performance cars and premium sports performance cars. We are rating them accordingly. Next week, we’ll rate small, full-size and full-size premium SUVs and CUVs as well as light trucks and electric/hybrid vehicles.

Be sure to watch for it. It will be included in the Star of Nov. 29th.

All of us who contributed to this issue are members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), the organization that administers the Canadian Car of the Year program (the winners of Car of the Year and Utility Vehicle of the Year will be announced on the eve of the 2017 Canadian International Auto-Show next February) and conducts an annual Test-Fest to determine which vehicles are better than the others.

The TestFest is made up of “real world” evaluations of all entries. That means the cars, or trucks, are driven on public roads and comparisons are made as the result of tests conducted on the same roads under the same conditions. Journalists judge and compare acceleration rates, braking, manoeuvreability and off-road capabilities (in case you have to navigate an obstacle course in order to get to the cottage), among other things.

TestFests in recent years have been held in the vicinity of a regional airport near St. Catharines, a golf course in Niagara Falls and, the last few years, at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s driver development centre, where there are paved roads, gravel roads, an off-track test area and a high-speed race track on which to judge performance.

Although we take the opportunity at TestFest to drive vehicles we haven’t been in before, AJAC has its agenda and we have ours.

This year, for instance, they — AJAC — classified all of the vehicles entered by the manufacturers into eight groupings, while we have opted to go with 10. We think there are enough electric/fuel cell vehicles to justify their own category; ditto with light trucks.

And there is one more, very important, difference: While AJAC critiques and rates only the vehicles entered in a particular category, we look at all of the vehicles in a category, whether they were entered in the TestFest or not.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to the judges in this week’s issue.

Small cars were handled by veteran journalist and blogger Gary Grant (theGarageGuy@Rogers.com). Full-size cars were judged by Brian Early, a long-time Wheels correspondent and a licensed mechanic. Full-size premium cars were driven and rated by Stephanie Wallcraft, whose auto racing website racingnorth.ca is a must-read. Emily Atkins drove and determined the order of the sports performance cars. Emily knows fast cars: she’s a veteran sports car racer who strikes fear into male hearts at road-racing events around Ontario each summer. And the premium sports performance category was handled by the legendary Jim Kenzie. ’Nuff said.

Please enjoy this section and, if you are in the market for a new vehicle, tuck it aside and use it while doing your research. I guarantee it will come in handy.